The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) released its industrial order books balance on Thursday. The CBI industrial order books balance rose to -7 in December from -11% in November.

The index increased in December as export orders improved.

"Manufacturers are still having a tough time of it with output slipping and exports remaining a weak spot in spite of an improvement at the end of the year. But there is a pick-up in orders from previous months which could be a sign of light at the end of the tunnel," the CBI director of economics Rain Newton-Smith said.